Black Jade (18 page)

‘You want to Fall?' the Emperor said. He rubbed his chin. ‘This is new. Why would you
want
to Fall?'

Martin's face was full of struggle, and after an uncomfortable couple of minutes, Leo answered for him. ‘He can't face being in the Pits again when we lose.'

‘When we lose, eh? If that's your attitude, then we've lost already,' the Emperor said. ‘You have a child, Prince Ming. You would leave her without a parent?'

‘My husband Leo will take care of her.'

‘And how will she react when she discovers that you've
chosen
to be destroyed, instead of staying to care for her when she loves you as a father?'

Martin didn't look up from the floor. He struggled to speak, coughed, then said, ‘I hope that one day she will understand and forgive me.'

‘Lord Leo Alexander,' the Emperor said.

Leo saluted the Jade Emperor. ‘Majesty.'

‘You are supporting your partner in this ridiculous request? You
want
to see him gone from your life forever?'

‘I want to be with Prince Ming for the rest of eternity,' Leo said, his voice rough with emotion. ‘But if he was returned to the Pits, it would destroy him. I love him too much to see him suffer like that.'

‘Once an Immortal has Fallen there is no return,' the Emperor said. ‘This life, all of these memories, would be lost. Even worse, Prince Ming, once Fallen you would retain an echo of what you were: fleeting moments where you would nearly remember, and they would tear you apart.'

‘I'd rather that than return to the Pits,' Martin said.

Leo put his hand on Martin's shoulder and Martin nodded acknowledgement.

‘Lady Emma Donahoe,' the Emperor said.

I saluted as well. ‘Majesty.'

‘You are actually supporting this insanity?'

‘The Dark Lord Fell, but he is here in the Heavens now,' I said. ‘If a spirit is Worthy, they will end up in the Heavens again. It's inevitable.'

‘The Dark Lord was guided by a Buddha, Miss Donahoe, and it took him a thousand incarnations to return to us.'

‘A thousand incarnations is tens of thousands of years,' Leo
said. ‘Lord Xuan's not more than five thousand years old, he says so himself. What aren't you telling us, Majesty?'

‘Time is irrelevant when the soul is returned to the Earthly,' the Emperor said. ‘More than one incarnation can exist at the same time. Isn't this obvious?'

‘Oh,' Leo said. ‘A
thousand
incarnations?'

‘If he ever returns, it will take at least a thousand incarnations, and the man that rises again will not be the man you see now. The Wheel changes a spirit's essence.'

‘I still request that you sentence me to Fall,' Martin said.

‘This is a one-way trip,' the Emperor said. ‘And I can only do it while I control the Heavens — which means I would have to do it before we face the demons. If we win on Saturday, I could have reattached you to the Wheel and destroyed your existence for no reason.'

‘I request you do it anyway, Majesty,' Martin said.

‘What does Simone say?' the Emperor said.

None of us replied.

‘I see. Does Buffy know?'

Again none of us answered.

‘What about the Dark Lord? Have you at least discussed this with your
father
?'

‘His opinion is irrelevant. This is between me, my husband, and my child.'

‘He is not your husband!' the Jade Emperor snapped. ‘What about your stepmother?'

‘She's just here to escort us past the guards.'

A Palace fairy appeared behind the Jade Emperor with an open scroll floating in front of her.

‘The ruling with regard to Prince Xuan Ming Gui of the Northern Heavens is as follows,' the Jade Emperor said, and a brush appeared floating above the scroll. The Emperor stopped and leaned his elbow on the arm of the throne. ‘Are you absolutely sure about this, Ming Gui?'

Martin's face was bright with hope, but his eyes glittered with tears. Leo made no attempt to brush the tears from his own face.

‘I am sure, Majesty. Please, release me from this Immortal existence and reattach me to the Wheel.'

‘The judgement is as follows,' the Emperor said. ‘Request denied. Prince Ming is to assist in the defence of the Heavens. His skills are needed. If he makes this request again, his partner, Leo Alexander, will be executed.'

‘What?' Martin said. ‘You'll execute
Leo
?'

‘Dismissed,' the Emperor said.

Martin stood and glared at the Emperor. ‘You can't do this! You can't execute Leo for something that I do!'

‘I am the Jade Emperor and I can do anything I want! If you are all not out of this room in thirty seconds, I'll execute
Princess Simone and Lord Xuan
as well as
all of you
. Out!'

‘You'll execute
Simone
?' I cried, horrified.

‘Ten seconds!' the Emperor said.

We hurried out.

I stood in the doorway of our bedroom in the Northern Heavens. It was smaller and less comfortable than our room on the Mountain — we only stayed in the Northern Palace when we had overnight administrative tasks or state dinners. The bed was a simple Western-style with a bedhead and side tables, unlike our lovely ebony four-poster on the Mountain.

John had buried himself under the black silk quilt, only his dark eyes and wild tangle of hair visible on the pillow. I crawled in next to him and nestled under his arm, nuzzling into his chest.

‘This is probably our last chance for a long time,' he said.

‘No. The Jade Emperor has to know something. We'll win.' I pulled myself closer. ‘We have to trust him. This time tomorrow we'll be back on the Mountain and everything will be okay.'

‘Tell me what you want,' he said. ‘Anything you want, I will make it happen for you.'

I pulled back to see him. His eyes were full of sadness.

‘No,' I said. ‘Tell me what you want. How do you want to spend this night? If you just want to cuddle, let's do that. You're always the one who asks me what I want from you. This time, tell me what
you
want.'

‘One condition,' he said.

‘If it's too freaky I'll say no.'

He nodded, satisfied.

‘Well?'

He hesitated, not sure where to start.

‘My snake?' I said. ‘You've been lusting after it forever. I've seen the way you look at me.'

He pulled himself up to sit against the bedhead. ‘You have read my mind. But there are things that will happen if you say yes.'

‘Ooh,' I said, acting entranced. ‘I hope so.'

He smiled, then it disappeared. ‘The Turtle will be present and separate.'

That stopped me. ‘Doing what?'

He shrugged.

I failed to control the laughter. ‘Okay. Is that all?'

‘The bed's too small. We'll have to go to the living room.'

‘Why not in here?'

‘Not enough room. You saw the old Serpent Concubine Pavilion — we had a . . .' He searched for the word.

‘You had a pit,' I said. ‘Wow. A little snaky love nest. And I knocked it down.' I shook my head. ‘I am such an idiot.'

‘I would not take you in there anyway.' He hesitated. ‘Are you sure about this?'

I climbed out of bed, moved to the middle of the bedroom floor, and transformed. I pictured his Serpent in my mind — all four sexy metres of it — and immediately generated the scent.

He made a deep moan of pleasure, his eyes glittering.

I writhed sinuously into the living room, then turned back to see him. He'd already changed and was following me like he was mesmerised.

The Turtle and Serpent separated. The Turtle changed to human form and sat cross-legged on the couch, its face intense. The Serpent came to me and raised its head so its eyes were level with mine. It flicked its tongue and generated its own scent. The aroma hit my tongue; I tasted it, and it sent me over the edge.

I grabbed him with my coils and pulled him down next to me. I tasted of
him
, the purest, wildest, most entrancing essence of him. I was driven even wilder when the cactuses came out, and we slid over each other, revelling in each other's scent and the touch of our scales.

‘Emma,' the Turtle said, but I didn't really hear it. I was lost in the taste and the scent and the sensation.

‘Emma!' he said more strongly, and the Serpent tapped the top of my head with its nose. ‘Emma. Talk to me.' He lowered his voice. ‘Please don't be all animal. I can't do it if you're all animal.'

‘No, don't stop,' I said, breathless with need. ‘Don't stop. Do it! I need this.' My voice went hoarse as I moved into position. ‘Xuan Wu. I need you. Now!'

‘If it hurts for even a second or feels wrong . . .' he began, but didn't have a chance to finish because I grabbed him with my coils and shoved myself onto him. He roared with triumph, pulled me down, and thrust into me. It was divine — the sensation of his spines wasn't painful, it was like scratching a nagging itch, a filling, a completion.

‘Are you still there?' he said into my serpent ear.

‘So good.' He moved and I moaned. ‘So good. So . . .'

He moved again. He twined over me and we moved together in the scent, fresh and bright and clean and wonderful. He filled me from nose to tail with sensation and scales and movement and exhilarating aroma.

Then he pushed harder and we locked together and the pleasure hit new heights. Where we had been two we were now one. We twined around each other, our scales rubbing deliciously together, immersed in the sweet-smelling essence.

We lifted and the floor fell away and the stars spun around us. We lay on a mountaintop, two as one, and the stars rotated, brilliant in their cold beauty. The air was freezing but I felt no chill; I was lost in the sensation of being one with the Xuan Wu.

‘Tell me when you're close,' he said into my ear, his voice soft and silken. ‘It's not the same as mammals, but when you're near . . .'

‘Yes,' I said. ‘Yes, now. So much.' I pushed against him, writhing with more than need. ‘Now.'

He rotated inside me and the stars exploded. The Turtle was speaking with John's voice some distance away, but I didn't really hear it. The stars coalesced into a bright point of need within me, and then he pushed again and everything went away for a long time. The stars spun wildly around me and I was completely submerged in his scent, his exquisite black scales, and his love for me.

It was like coming down from an incredible high as we lay side by side in serpent form on the floor, still wrapped comfortably around each other.

‘Heavens, that was wonderful,' he breathed.

‘I've never felt anything like it.' I flicked my tongue; the scents were still around us. ‘I could just lie like this forever, it was even better than the Turtle.' I raised my head. ‘Oh. Sorry.'

‘Nothing to apologise for,' the Turtle said from the sofa above us, its voice warm and satisfied. It was reclining in human form with an expression of contentment I'd never seen on John's face before, its head resting on its arm. It sat up. ‘I haven't done that in ages. I'm glad we had this final chance.'

‘I wish my snake form could accommodate both of you like my human form can,' I said, almost to myself.

The serpent made a deep hissing sound and its scent filled the air around us again.

I slid against him, making the scent stronger. ‘More?'

He rubbed his head against mine. ‘Yes, please.'

‘Can you?'

‘There's two of them, remember?'

The Turtle made a soft sound of pleasure and fell back on the sofa.

‘You're not missing out?' I said to the Turtle.

‘I'm right there with you,' the Turtle said. ‘Like . . .' The Serpent wrapped itself around me to hold me tight, and I squeaked with pleasure. ‘This.'

* * *

We lay on the carpet in the living room, side by side. The Turtle reclined on the couch in human form, dozing as well. I was warm and comfortable and didn't want to move.

‘We should have done this a long time ago,' I said. ‘Wait. What the hell? I feel it! I could do it.'

‘Are you okay?' he said. The Serpent touched its head to mine.

‘John, I have everything while I'm snake. All my internal organs.
All
of them. And I could keep your seed and use it later to make . . .' I took a deep breath. ‘Wow. Little serpent babies.'

‘You have to stay snake for the whole process to succeed,' he said. ‘With a big snake Shen it can take up to a year.'

‘Would the children be . . . children? Would they be sentient? They wouldn't be animals, would they?'

‘No. They're always serpent Shen.'

‘I would lay the eggs and leave them.'

‘That's what we do.' He grunted and shifted next to me. ‘Let me up, I want to rejoin.'

I uncurled from around him. The Turtle stepped off the couch, changed to True Form, and the Serpent coiled around it. I changed back to human and sat on the floor next to him. He rubbed his snake head affectionately against me.

‘It's gone,' I said.

‘That's how it works.'

‘You don't have a problem with me . . .? I mean, we could have had more children.'

‘It's your choice what you do with your body, Emma. Whatever form you take, it is your decision alone.'

I leaned my head against him. ‘Maybe one day.'

His voice was warm and low. ‘Maybe. When you're ready. But not for a long time now.'

‘You're sure we'll lose?'

‘Absolutely positive, love. We have no chance.'

I rubbed the back of my head against his smooth shell. ‘How much time do we have left?'

‘All the time in the world.' He changed to human form, stood, and reached down to me. ‘Come to bed, my love, and hold me. Because it is our last time.'

I took his hand and he helped me up. I wrapped my arm around his waist and we walked into the bedroom. When we were in bed, we held each other tight, and spent the rest of the night making plans for a future we probably wouldn't have. Neither of us wanted to see the dawn.

* * *

In the morning I did a final patrol of the Mountain, checking the disposition of our defences. An awful sense of foreboding filled
me. This was the last time I would be able to wander through our Mountain home and enjoy the sounds of the students and the fresh pine-filled air. If they won, the demons could finish the job they'd been trying to do for many years and destroy the Mountain completely. When they won. The sure knowledge filled me that they would attack and they would win; and it didn't matter how much we fought, we would lose.

I walked alongside a row of cherry and plum trees that framed the path for two hundred metres along the cliff edge. The compound's wall stood on the far side of the fifty-metre-wide chasm, with the remaining Disciples and Celestial Masters patrolling its top. The plum trees had finished; their dark red flowers bloomed at the end of the snow and peeked through the white as a promise of future warmth. The cherries were in full blossom and shedding a flurry of pink petals that covered the ground. I raised my hand to touch one as it fluttered past me, certain in the knowledge that these trees would not be gracing the Mountain with their beauty for much longer. The demons took great delight in destroying every lovely thing we created.

I wanted to be with John, but his first allegiance was to the Heavens and he stood with the army outside the Northern Palace. It was up to the Celestial Masters and me to lead the defence of the Mountain and my family. The remaining Disciples were young, undertrained, underdisciplined and terrified. In the last forty-eight hours, many of them had returned to their families on the Earthly and I didn't blame them. If the Northern Heavens fell, there was no way we could retain the Mountain. All the Heavens would fall.

My phone rang and I pulled it out of my pocket: my mother.

‘Yes, Mum?'

‘Sorry to call you again, but my nerves are just so on edge. Have you heard anything?'

‘No. Nothing's happened.'

‘We have less than an hour before they attack — are you far away?'

‘Not far, I'm near the admin section, I can be there in a couple of minutes. Try not to worry too much.'

She was silent for a moment, then her voice came back very
faintly and full of biting sarcasm. ‘She says try not to worry . . .' she said as she ended the call.

Emma.

My heart leapt.
John.

Where are you?

Can you look through my eyes?

He was silent a moment, then,
I suppose it makes no difference now.
His consciousness touched mine and we shared the beauty of the trees.
Thank you.

We watched the trees silently together. I brushed my hand through the clouds of petals and John shared my appreciation for them.

The future does not look good
, he said.

I know.

I would give anything to spend another hour with you before everything is destroyed.

Me too
, I said.
And we both know that won't happen.

You will be safe.

And for the rest of my long life, my safety will mean that you are in a cage in True Form being tortured by demons.

Worth it
, he said.
Just promise that you'll keep Simone safe for me.

I will.

We won't have a chance to say goodbye
, he said.
But I want you to know: all of it was worth it. All of it will be worth it. Do not doubt for a second that I am glad to pay the price. And I am sure that our daughter will one day grow strong enough to surprise us all.

I love you, John, and all of it was worth it for me as well.

I am sorry that I led you here.

I'm not. Remember that you vowed to marry me, even if the Heavens and the Earth —

I'm sorry, my love, but our time is finished.

I caught one of the petals between my fingers, slid it into the pocket of my Mountain uniform, and hurried back to Persimmon Tree.

I joined my parents in the living room. Greg had tuned the television to the camera mounted on the Northern Palace's wall
that pointed at the field next to the lake. I ran my eye over the defensive features for the hundredth time.

The lake was on the left; any aquatic demon would need to exit the water to attack us and would lose its underwater advantage. The field was wide and flat and the ground was solid, but would eventually turn to mud once battle had commenced. Regardless of the surface, soldiers always ended up fighting in mud. The land to the right of the lake spread to low rolling hills, meaning that we couldn't hold the demon force in a small, narrow area and there was a chance they could flank us and cut us off. Defensive barriers had been placed fifty metres in front of our army; they were a metre and a half tall, sloped upwards and ended in spikes that would impale any attackers. We'd used the last of the steel and wood to build them, and placed razor wire in the gaps where we hadn't had enough raw materials to cover the entire area. The demons would have to work through them to reach us and fight hand-to-hand; the bottlenecks would throttle their movement.